


The Life of an Element

by Smuppet



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: AU, AkuRoku - Freeform, M/M, Romance, contains child abuse a little in the beginning, kinda dark sometimes, rating is subject to change in future chapters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-11
Updated: 2018-03-14
Packaged: 2019-03-29 19:09:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 19,839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13933425
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Smuppet/pseuds/Smuppet
Summary: Axel and Roxas were subjects to the experiments of Hearts Research Facility as young children, giving them extraordinary abilities to control certain elements and rely on these elements rather than food. Fourteen years after their friendship as children, they run into each other out in the open world, away from lab coats and microscopes.





	1. A New Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> I started this story when I was 15 years old, and now 6 years later I've come back to rewrite what I had and finish it!  
> The first 6 chapters of this fic take place 14 years before the main storyline in the year 2004

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Axel is adopted into a new life by two men named Marluxia and Vexen, who seem to be co-workers. He is taken to Hearts Research Facility, where he begins his new life, and meets a new friend.

_Hello. My name is Axel Pereira and I am 7 years old. Three weeks ago, I was adopted by a man named Marluxia and he took me here to my new home! This man named Vexen is really important here, I think he is kind of my new dad! Vexen bought me this journal yesterday and he told me to write stuff in it every day. Like my thoughts and stuff? I don’t know really. Oh! Okay, journal, so guess what! This home is a big fancy building, it doesn’t feel much like a house, more like a place grown-ups would go to do their jobs. It’s pretty cool. It feels like I’m rich living here! Vexen doesn’t let me call him daddy, so I have to call him Doctor Vexen. I think that is SO cool. Also! My room is like so big. I wish I could show you, or put a picture in here! It’s big and white and it has lots and lots of room for me to play. I don’t even have to share it with other boys like I did at my foster house! Vexen says I’m not allowed to leave unless I ask. That’s okay because it was like that in my old house too. It’s fun to be alone sometimes, because I can play any games I want without having to ask other people if they want to. Vexen said I’m not allowed to have real toys because they can be dangerous, but I have a small blanket and I play with that. It’s kind of fun to like make shapes out of it and stuff like that. Well. I’m not sure what else to write. Vexen says I am very important to him and I will be very helpful with his job! I’m excited because he said I get to help him tomorrow. We’re gonna be best friends, journal! You and I! See ya!_

Axel scribbled a small picture of himself into the corner of the journal’s page that was unused. He colored in his hair. He didn’t have a red crayon to show that his hair is red, so he drew an arrow pointing to it and explaining to his journal the way that he looks. When he was satisfied with his entry, Axel smiled and closed his brand-new journal, stuffing his tiny pencil into the pocket of his shorts. Leaning over the side of the rickety bed, he slid the thin book under the mattress, where he decided he would keep it. Safe and sound! Vexen would be so proud of him for taking up a whole page on the first day he got the journal.

Axel smiled at the thought of his new dad. Vexen didn’t really seem like the most playful guy in the world, but he was nice and he seemed very smart! Plus, he was told that it was Vexen’s idea to have him adopted, and that was the nicest thing anybody could have done for Axel. He had always wanted a mom too, but Vexen told him that ‘no lady could ever compare to a child.’ It hadn’t made sense to the boy at the time, but he came to terms with the fact that Vexen just says some weird stuff sometimes. Axel thought it was funny.

A grumble came from the small boy’s tummy and he giggled at the sound. He knew that dinner would be soon, and Vexen promised him he would have a really good dinner today. He hoped it was ice cream.

In excitement, Axel jumped to his feet and clambered up onto his bed. His room was devoid of furniture minus the full-sized bed in the corner of the large square room. Axel had considered asking Vexen or Marluxia if he could have some other stuff in his room, but also didn’t want to ask too much of the nice people that took him away from his foster home. He knew that, eventually, Vexen would probably surprise him with a race car or something.

Standing atop his bed in his socks, Axel swung his arms back behind himself as far as he could. He imagined he was up high on an airplane soaring thousands of feet in the sky and he was about to jump with nothing but a parachute! A large smile spread across the small boy’s face at the thought and he leapt as far as he could off the bed, landing with a loud _thump._ A grin threatened to rip his face in two as he clambered to his feet again and pulled his pencil out from his pocket again. He leaned over and marked the spot where he had landed as his new record distance. The door swung open.

“Axel, child, come.” Vexen’s demanding voice echoed through the empty room and Axel jumped, startled at the sudden sound. He quickly spun around to look at Vexen who was smiling softly at him with his arms crossed as he waited in the doorway.

“Daddy! You scared me!” Axel giggled and pocketed his pencil again before making his way over to Vexen. He grinned up at him and pointed to the new mark he had made on the floor. “Look how far I jumped!”

“That’s nice, Axel.” Vexen regarded the marks on the floor with a passing glance before slotting his hands into the pockets of his long, white coat. He glanced down at Axel. “Come along, it’s time to eat. And you are not to call me ‘daddy’. Understood? We are still getting to know each other, Axel.” He lectured as he made his way down the facility’s hall, leaving Axel’s door open behind him. Axel ran to follow him happily.

“Oh yeah! Sorry, Doctor Vexen!” Axel apologized as he caught up to Vexen. He reached up and offered his hand to his adoptive father, expecting Vexen to hold his hand as they walked. Vexen regarded Axel’s hand before pulling his hands out of his pocket and tying his long blond hair into a tight ponytail. He then reached down and ruffled Axel’s fiery locks before delicately taking his hand.

“You will be very helpful to me, Axel.” he mentioned as he smiled down at the boy. Axel beamed up at him.

Axel had never felt so wanted before in his life. He had been left in the care of his old foster parents at the age of 2 after his parents had snuck him into the States from Portugal. His foster mother, Arlene, had explained to him that his parents probably could not support him and most likely wanted him to have a fair chance at a successful life in America. Still, Axel often wondered if that were true, as he never heard from his birth parents again.

He squeezed Vexen’s hand tight as the pair veered into the dining hall. Immediately spotting the plate on the lone, white dining table, Axel cheered.

“Spaghetti!? I _LOVE_ spaghetti, Vexen!” He exclaimed in excitement as he plopped himself onto one of the too-big-for-kids chairs. He vaguely noticed the lack of members at the table today. Usually, there were a bunch of guys in white coats like Vexen’s that would join him for dinner.

“Your old caretaker informed me of your interest in this cuisine.” Vexen spoke matter-of-factly and joined Axel at the table. He crossed his arms over his chest and smiled with an interested gaze set on the boy. Vexen’s long face seemed to stretch even longer whenever he smiled. “Just tell me or Marluxia whenever you would like to eat it, okay? Marluxia will be happy to cook it up for you.”

Marluxia served as Vexen’s chef at the Hearts Research Facility. He was an old college colleague of Vexen’s, and the two of them stuck together after their schooling to open up a Research building just north of the boundaries of the city of Leide. Marluxia had been the man tasked with retrieving Axel from his old foster parents and bringing him to Hearts Research. Marluxia had taken an immediate liking to the boy considering he was the first child at the Facility that was to take residence under Vexen’s wing of the building. Axel loved the attention and took advantage of every moment he had to talk to Marluxia over dinner. He had been intrigued by Marluxia’s long pink hair. It took him a couple days to realize that the chef was kidding when he said his hair was made out of bubblegum.

“So, you’re saying I can have spaghetti whenever I want?” Axel inquired with wide, hopeful eyes up at Vexen who nodded with a smug smile. “No way! Wow, you are sooooo cool!”

“I’m glad you think so.” Vexen’s voice trailed off as he pulled a pad of paper out of the pocket of his coat and scribbled something down onto it. He lifted his head to speak to Axel again but stopped himself when he saw that the boy was already messily shoving noodles into his face, red sauce smeared all over his cheeks. He shook his head with a quiet sigh as he stood up from the table. As he reached the doorway of the dining hall, he turned around briefly.

“When you are finished eating, I would like to see you in my lab. You know where that is. Please, do not go anywhere else.”

Axel hummed in acknowledgement and continued to eat his spaghetti happily. He could not believe his luck with this new family. There was no way his old foster parents would let him eat his favorite meal every day! He was lucky if his foster mother made spaghetti once a month. As he ate his full, Axel rubbed his tummy in satisfaction. He smiled to himself. His life was going to be so great, and his mind reeled at all the possibilities for fun to have in the future with Vexen and Marluxia and the other men who hung around his home.

Jumping off the chair, Axel picked up his empty plate and padded through the empty room to the drop-off window. He held the plate with both hands like Vexen had told him to and stuck his tongue out in concentration as he stood on the tips of his toes to place the plate gently onto the surface.

Usually, Marluxia would take his dish for him, but since he didn’t seem to be around, Axel thought he’d be nice and just do it for him! The boy leaned his head through the window and scanned the kitchen. _Maybe he’s in here…_

He cupped his hands around his mouth as a makeshift megaphone and shouted as loud as his lungs could carry into the kitchen.

“MARLYYYY!”

He waited a few moments before a response came.

“Axel?”

A grin spread across the boy’s face and he leaned against the window to try to get more of himself through the small hole. Soon, Marluxia’s soft pink hair came into view and Axel giggled as the chef tweaked the child’s nose.

“Hi Marly!” Axel gave the man a toothy grin and pointed to his plate. “Look! I brought my plate over here for you!”

“No way!” Marluxia exclaimed over dramatically. Axel giggled and nodded his heath enthusiastically. “Wow, thank you, Axel! I’m proud of you.” He smiled warmly and ruffled the boy’s hair. “Hey, didn’t Vexen want to see you after dinner, honey?”

“Yea. I just wanted to see you first!”

Marluxia chuckled softly and smiled down at Axel through the window. “You see me every day little guy.”

Axel grinned and nodded. “Yup! That’s why I had to see you!” He leaned back because his arms were getting tired of holding his weight up to the window. “Vexen said you’ll make me spaghetti, like, whenever I want it!” He shouted excitedly up at the window and placed his hands on his hips proudly.

“Oh, did he?” Marluxia laughed and replaced his head in the window to look down at the beaming redhead who nodded happily. “Well, I guess that’s that, then! Spaghetti tomorrow?”

Axel nodded quickly and grinned at Marluxia before he turned around and wiggled his butt at the man before running off to find Vexen.

Marluxia felt his heart warm up. It was a refreshing sight to see Vexen spending time bonding with one of the children they had taken in. While all the others lived in the separate wing, Axel was the first to share a living space with Marluxia and Vexen. If he didn’t know any better, he would start to think that maybe Vexen actually wanted a family.

Shaking his head with a roll of his eyes at the thought, Marluxia grabbed Axel’s plate to wash. Vexen would never be a kids kind of guy. Whenever Marluxia would muse about his girlfriend in college, his friend would disregard his statements and continue to talk about his work. Marluxia had gotten used to the fact that Vexen just didn’t care much for close relationships.

Still, he couldn’t help but feel a sliver of hope for the boring scientist with the new fireball child running amongst them.

* * *

 

Axel skipped down the hall and laughed when he skidded around the corner. His new home was so _big._

_I bet the other kids that got adopted don’t live in a place this big!_

As he ran down the hall, he loved the way that he slid around on the polished floors with his socks. Before heading into the lab to see Vexen, he backed up to run down the hallway again. He stopped picking up his feet halfway and slid across the floor, throwing his hands in front of himself to stop himself from running into the wall. Hands pancaked against the surface and face nose-to-nose with the wall, Axel giggled to himself as he caught his breath.

As Axel pushed open the door to Vexen’s lab quietly, his face was beat red from laughing and running around. He stepped into the large, brightly lit room and cocked his head to the side when he noticed Vexen hunched over a table, working intently at something.

“Come, Axel.” The man spoke, startling Axel. How did he hear him come in? He had been so quiet!

“Watcha doin’?” the child whispered, afraid to pierce the loud silence that enveloped the room. He padded over to the table and tried to peek over the edge, but he was too short. Vexen patted his own lap.

“Come. Sit. I must show you something.”

Axel smiled and lifted his arms as the scientist pulled him up in one swift motion. He dangled his legs as he looked down at the table. There, on the cold metal table, was a small metal box that sat on top of a multitude of papers. The metal object was a shiny bright red, much like the color of his hair, Axel noted.

“This is for you.” Vexen’s voice came from behind Axel and the child felt the man’s breath on his neck when he spoke. He giggled.

“What is it?” He turned his head and glanced at the scientist with big, green eyes. Vexen nodded his head towards the table and picked up the object to hold it in front of Axel.

“It’s a lighter. It makes fire,” he explained, flipping the corner of the lighter up to reveal a small gear. “You see, the metal container here is filled with pressurized liquid gas as a means of ignition to produce the flame.” He tapped on the body of the lighter with his other hand.

Axel watched with wide eyes as Vexen turned the object, allowing Axel to get a good look at it. He didn’t understand anything Vexen was saying, but he was amazed at how complicated the explanation sounded for such a small item.

“Cool,” he half whispered, reaching out with one hand to cautiously poke the lighter. He heard Vexen exhale quickly through his nose in amusement.

“And this,” the scientist continued, placing his thumb over the metal gear atop the lighter, “is a gear that sits atop a piece of flint inside the lighter here.” He rubbed his thumb over the gear slowly. “If the gear is spun quickly,” he explained softly behind Axel as he flicked his thumb down against the gear and a small, steady flame appeared, “it creates a spark, which catches the fumes from the liquid gas and ignites a flame.”

Axel’s eyes widened impossibly large at the flickering flame in front of his eyes. He had seen fire before, of course, but he had never seen it be created. He had watched Vexen create the dancing flame out of seemingly nothing.

“That…” he began quietly and turned his head to look at Vexen, “is the coolest thing I have ever seen.”

Vexen smiled at Axel and closed the lighter before placing it in Axel’s hands and cupping his own hands around them. “Make sure to be careful with flame, Axel, it could cause a lot of destruction,” He raised his eyebrows as he spoke sternly to Axel, looking into the boy’s eyes, “but if harnessed and controlled carefully, it can be the most beautiful thing on this planet.”

Axel nodded quietly, eyes wide. He was slightly intimidated by the seriousness of Vexen’s tone, but he also felt a swell of pride knowing that Vexen was entrusting him with such important information.

“This is yours to keep, Axel.”

* * *

 

That night Axel laid awake in his bed hours into the night, flipping the lighter on and off repeatedly. He loved the quiet sound of the flame bursting into existence every time he flicked his thumb over the gear. In the darkness of his cold room, Axel stared into the flame, getting as close as he can until he started to feel the warmth with his face. It seemed as though he could run his hand right through it, and it would feel like silk. He knew better, though. Vexen had trusted him to be careful because fire was dangerous.

As he closed the lighter and blinked into the darkness, Axel thought about what Vexen might expect of him. Vexen had told Axel that the boy would be helping him with his work. He wondered if teaching Axel about the lighter had anything to do with that.

With a proud smile, Axel leaned over his bed to tuck his new lighter under his mattress right next to his journal where it would be kept safe and sound in his collection of important things. He then curled up under his sheets with his red blanket and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

 

Axel was startled awake by the sounds of slamming doors.

Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, Axel reached for his red blanket and shuffled off his bed. The fabric dragged on the floor behind him as he stumbled over to the door of his room sleepily to listen to what was happening.

“S-s- _stop_!” A young voice came from beyond Axel’s door and his eye’s widened. Another kid? Was the kid crying?

 _“_ I wanna go _home_! Please!” The child was shouting, but even then, his voice sounded weak. Axel frowned. He was confused and slightly nervous about what was going on.

“Shush up, child.”

Vexen! Axel clutched his blanket tighter and felt relieved at the sound of his dad’s voice. If somebody was sad, Vexen was sure to fix it.

Content with the fact that his new dad had the situation under control, Axel dragged his blanket back to his bed and clambered back on top of it. He turned on his side away from the door and covered his ear with his blanket. The screaming subsided to panicked sobs, and Axel clutched the blanket tighter to his head, attempting to drown out the scary sound. Once the banging and crying stopped, he released his death grip from his blanket and stared at the wall across from him as he tried to curl up into a comfortable position to fall back asleep.

The door to his room opened then, and Axel panicked momentarily, turning to his side quickly and laying still to appear as if he were still asleep. His eyes wide with his back to the door, Axel listened as shuffling sounds were made and a quiet _thud_ reverberated through the room before his door closed again.

A light sniffling enveloped the room and suddenly Axel’s curiosity got the best of him. He looked over his shoulder to see that, sitting in the middle of the floor holding his knees to his chest, was a small blond boy. The boy dug his face into his knees and held his hands over his head as he cried quietly.

Axel watched the boy for a few short moments before he turned around fully and hopped off of his bed. The new boy’s sniffling stopped immediately, and his head snapped up. He hadn’t noticed there was anybody else in the room.

“Hey. I’m Axel.” Axel stated awkwardly. He rung his blanket between his hands and sat down crisscross in front of the other boy. When the blond boy only stared at him for a few moments, Axel looked down at his blanket and mumbled, “Why are you crying?” He couldn’t fathom why this kid could be so upset in his home. Especially when he definitely heard Vexen outside his door with the kid.

The boy didn’t respond. He just stared at Axel with big, blue eyes and brought his knees closer to his chest, hugging them tight again. His shaggy blond hair fell in his face and he bowed his head into his arms to cover his eyes.

Axel furrowed his eyebrows in frustration when the boy started shuddering again, his tiny body shaking. He was so small, probably younger than Axel.

“Hey,” Axel tried again. He wanted the boy to talk to him. He can’t just come into his room and cry without talking to Axel! “Stop crying,” he demanded bluntly.

The shudders halted again, and the blond boy looked up cautiously.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, so quietly that Axel could barely hear him, “I’m scared.” His voice broke on the last syllable and his big eyes started flooding over again as his lip quivered. Axel watched the boy and slowly reached forward to touch him. When the boy didn’t flinch, Axel thought it was okay to place his hand on the tiny shoulder.

“You’re so tiny.” He mused aloud and laughed. “Come on! Don’t be scared. Uh.. do you wanna see me lighter?” He shook the boy’s shoulder to try to get him to stop crying again and the blond’s eyes widened in astonishment. When he didn’t reply, Axel found himself laughing. “Come on!”

Axel then stood quickly, pulling the blond along with him as he went to his mattress.

“This is my secret hiding spot,” he spoke as he reached his arm under his mattress, “so don’t tell anyone where it is!” He stuck his tongue out as he moved his arm around, looking for his new toy. “Ah-ha!” he exclaimed, and a grin cracked on his face as he held up the lighter proudly.

The blond boy didn’t know how to respond. His eyes flickered between the beaming boy in front of him and the object in the boy’s hand.

“Vexen gave it to me,” Axel explained further, and he pushed the lighter in the boy’s face.

The timid child’s eyes widened at the mention of the scientist and he shook his head in a panic. Axel noticed the tears starting up again, and this time he sighed loudly.

“Don’t you cry again! Boys don’t cry!” He pouted as he put his hands on his hips and looked down at the quivering mess in front of him.

Staring at Axel, bewildered, the boy brought his dirty arm up to wipe at his face. In consequence, he only smudged dirt all over his face. Axel burst out laughing.

“What are you, ha-ha! Why are you so dirty?” he asked between chuckles. The boy stepped back timidly, looking down at himself then. He _was_ really dirty.

Axel noticed the boy staring at himself with a blank expression. _What’s with him?_ He leaned forward slightly when he thought he heard the blond say something. “What’d you say?”

The child looked up at him timidly before trying again.

“Roxas,” he repeated, rubbing his arm, “I’m Roxas.”


	2. Red Blanket

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Axel and Roxas build upon their friendship, and Roxas helps Vexen with his work.

_Hi journal! Remember me? Of course you do! Yesterday, Vexen gave me this really cool thing. It’s a lighter! It actually makes fire on its own. Vexen taught me how it works too, but I couldn’t explain it to you, you would have to ask him if you wanna know. It’s super cool. Also, there’s a new boy that is living in my room right now! His name is Roxas. He told me that he’s 6 years old. He’s like super tiny and quiet. I think he’s kind of funny. Maybe Vexen adopted him too! Wouldn’t that be so cool if I had a brother already? He kept on crying and crying. Man, it was really getting old. So, I told him that boys don’t cry. Yup, that made him stop! I’ve cried before though, even though I’m a boy. Since there’s only one bed in my room and I don’t want to share it, I let Roxas use it tonight. I’m sleeping on the floor! Isn’t that crazy? It’s note even carpet. I’m so nice! Vexen should be proud of me. Well, I should get to bed. Tomorrow, Vexen says he needs my help for his work! Goodnight, journal!_

Axel yawned as he closed his journal and stuffed his pencil back into his pocket. His pencil was getting really short, he would have to remember to ask Vexen for a new one. Crawling over to the bed, Axel stuffed the journal under the mattress, being extra careful not to disturb the sleeping boy on top of it. He grabbed his blanket from the bottom of the bed and settled himself on the floor again. Smiling at his good deed, Axel hugged his red blanket and soon fell into slumber.

* * *

 

When Axel woke up, he groaned from the soreness in his poor seven-year-old body. He glanced over at Roxas sleeping soundly on the bed, curled up in a tiny fetal position. Why was the kid in his room anyway? Roxas had been really freaking out the night before, and Axel wasn’t really sure what to make of those kinds of emotions. Axel had felt upset before, but he couldn’t remember how he became not upset in the end.

Axel yawned as he watched Roxas sleep for a moment until his stomach growled and he placed his hands over his belly. It was breakfast time!

Slapping a grin on his face, Axel leaned back until he was looking directly at the ceiling and shouted.

“WAKE UP, ROXAS!”

There was a thump and Axel laughed. He leaned forward and stared at his new friend. Rpxas had bumped his head against the wall and was rubbing it with a pained expression. Axel chuckled at the way Roxas’ chubby cheeks scrunched up and his face got all squished when he made that face. Axel picked up his blanket as he got up from the hard concrete he’d been sleeping on. He yawned and stretched as Roxas watched him quietly.

“Do you like spaghetti?” Axel blurted out as he dragged his blanket over to the bed where Roxas was sitting, covering himself in the sheet. Axel had pulled the sheet off the bed for Roxas to use as a blanket.

Roxas stared at the redhead with big eyes, regarding his question. He shrugged.

“WHAT?” Axel’s jaw dropped and he sat himself on the bed, leaning into Roxas, effectively invading the blond’s personal space. Roxas flinched and scooted back the slightest bit. “Spaghetti is _so_ good, Roxas!”

The small boy didn’t take his eyes off of the other boy’s as he spoke quietly. “I Like s’ghetti.”

Axel stared back at Roxas for a moment, then beamed. “Good! Because we are gonna eat spaghetti every _day,_ ” he said, looking up at the ceiling dreamily.

Roxas was horrified. _“Why?”_ he looked at Axel worriedly. Was spaghetti the only food they were allowed to eat?

The older boy looked back down at Roxas and after a moment of watching that blank stare, he burst into laughter. “Why? Ha-ha! Because I _love_ spaghetti! You can ask Marly to make you something different if you want.” He frowned and looked away, pouting. “I don’t know why you’d want to do that, though.”

Roxas physically shrunk at seeing Axel frown like that. “I’ll eat s’ghetti.”

Axel looked back at him confusedly and giggled. “You’re so cute, Roxas!”

At this, Roxas huffed and crossed his arms over his chest while he narrowed his eyes. “Am not!”

Axel just laughed. “Wait there, Roxy!” he giggled and stood up on the bed. Roxas’ eyes widened and he leaned back when he noticed how close the other boy’s butt was to his face. Axel brought his arms back as far as he could and the blond watched him in interest. The older boy closed his eyes and paused for a moment.

Then suddenly, he jumped.

Roxas squeaked an inhuman noise in surprise.

Axel landed with a loud _thud_ a good distance away from the bed. The blond stared after him in confusion as he watched the other look down at the floor and groan.

“Darn it!” exclaimed Axel. “You shoulda seen how far I jumped yesterday!”

Roxas giggled and looked down when Axel turned to him with a large grin.

“You wanna try?”

Roxas’ eyes widened and he shook his head.

“Aww, c’monnnn!” Axel whined and threw his head back dramatically. Roxas blinked and seemed to have an internal battle with himself before he pushed the sheet off himself and stood up with determination.

“Okay…” he muttered ever so quietly, more to himself than anything.

Axel scooted back to give Roxas more room.

“You just gotta imagine you’re jumping off a _giaaaaant_ airplane.” He spread his arms for emphasis on just how giant that imaginary airplane should be.

Roxas nodded and furrowed his brows in concentration as he closed his eyes and brought his arms back, as Axel had done. He jumped.

In the moment that Roxas was in the air, the wind blew past him as the sound of the _giaaaaaant_ airplane faded away.

Roxas landed with a _foosh_ and, unable to keep his balance, flailed his arms around a bit before falling back on his bum.

“Wooooo, Roxas!” Axel cheered from the corner and padded over to the stunned blond. “Man, that was so _cool!_ Look how far you jumped!”

Roxas blinked three times and looked behind him. He _had_ jumped far! He smiled and looked up at Axel.

“I jumped more far than you did, Axel!” he explaimed excitedly and pointed to the ground right in front of him.

“Wahh?” Axel gaped. “Nope! I’ve jumped further! Look!” He pointed at a line on the concrete marking his record a mere 6 inches or less from where Roxas sat.

Roxas stared at Axel for a moment before following his finger to the mark with his eyes. “Oh.” He furrowed his brows and frowned. The door opened.

“What is all of this noise, children?”

Roxas visibly shrunk.

“Hi, Vexen! Is Roxas my new brother?” Axel asked cheekily, pointing at his new friend. Vexen chuckled and shook his head. Axel frowned. “Then how come he’s in my room?”

Vexen smirked and kneeled down to reach eye level with the little boy, his long white cloak pooling around him on the floor.

“This is still _your_ room, child. Roxas is a guest, and you should treat him as such. Now, both of you come. Breakfast.” He stood up, brushing off his coat and ruffled Axel’s hair with a smile before he headed out the door down the hall, leaving it open for the boys. Axel brightened.

“Spaghetti!” He shouted and spread out his arms as if he were an airplane. He ran around the room a few times like this before noticing Roxas had gone back to huddling on the bed, clutching the sheet.

“C’mon Roxy!”  He reached his hand out to the boy as he bounced on his feet in excitement.

Roxas shook his head and narrowed his eyes as he looked down at his fiddling hands. He held the sheet closer to himself, as he had seen Axel do with his blanket. He was scared; he didn’t want to leave Axel’s room. Axel made things a little less scary.

“My sheet isn’t very soft is it?” Axel asked dully as he stared at Roxas, all energy temporarily put on hold and replaced with curiosity over Roxas’ behavior. Roxas glanced up for a moment before reverting his attention back to the fabric in his hand. He squeezed it. No, it really wasn’t very soft.

“Here.”

Suddenly Roxas’ vision was filled with red. He looked up to see Axel holding his blanket out to him. “Do you want it?”

Roxas reached out and ran his hand over the soft fabric. “But it’s yours.”

Axel placed his free hand that wasn’t holding the blanket on his hip and smiled proudly. “Welp, Roxy. Now that you’re living in my room, you’re mine too! So, if I give this to you, it’s still mine.” He stated matter-of-factly and leaned close to Roxas’ face with a playful grin. Roxas shrunk his head back a bit at the closeness but nodded nonetheless.

Axel grinned and dropped the blanket in Roxas’ lap before sipping off to the door. He stopped at the doorway and looked back at the soundless boy. He rolled his eyes. “Oh, c’mon Roxas!” He coaxed at Roxas who had the faintest of smiles tinting his lips as he clutched his new blanket and crawled off the bed.

* * *

 

Roxas ate his Froot Loops slowly and held onto the blanket in his lap as he watched Axel basically inhale his spaghetti. He had never seen anybody eat that fast before! Not even his brother back at home!

Roxas saddened at the memory of his brother. It made him think of his mom and his home. They had only recently moved overseas into America, and his mom was about to get citizenship for him and his brother. Things were looking up and now he found himself here, confused and alone. Well, not alone _really._ Axel seemed like he would be a nice friend. Still, he wondered if he would ever see his mom and brother again. He had hope still that they would come and take him back home soon.

“Hey, Woxas,” Axel mumbled around a mouth full of food and Roxas looked up at him from staring at his bowl. Axel chewed thoroughly and swallowed once he got the boy’s attention and continued, “How come you don’t talk much?”

Roxas blinked. He watched as Axel swirled another large clump of noodles around his fork and shoved it into his mouth before locking eyes with him again.

“I…um. I-I don’t… um…” he mumbled and huffed, frustrated at his inability to explain his discomfort. He didn’t know what to say.

Axel laughed, effectively splaying chewed up pieces of spaghetti back onto his plate. He stared down at the food and swallowed what was in his mouth. “Ewww…” he grumbled at the now gross plate.

This, in turn, caused Roxas to giggle and he looked back down at his bowl, smiling as he shoveled a few colorful ‘loops’ into his mouth.

For now, until his mom saved him, Axel would be his family.

“Hi Marly” Axel exclaimed suddenly and Roxas looked up, still chewing. Making his way over to the table, holding a small bowl of salad, was the man with pink hair that had poured Roxas’ cereal for him. Once clarifying that the scary blond man from yesterday wasn’t coming in too, the boy went back to his cereal.

“Good morning Axel, Roxas.” Marluxia smiled kindly and nodded his head at each of the boys as he sat at the table with his meal. “Did you sleep well?”

Roxas nodded but didn’t make eye contact. He proceeded to have a growing interest in his food, pushing all the green pieces to the opposite side of the bowl with his spoon.

“No!”

Axel didn’t seem to mind sharing everything with the pink-haired chef. “ _I_ slept on the floor so Roxas could have _my_ bed!” he explained proudly and smiled broadly at Marluxia.

“Did you, now?” Marluxia chuckled as he mixed dressing into his salad. “That’s very kind of you, Axel.” He then turned to smile back at Axel and ruffle the boy’s hair.

“I _know!_ ” Axel’s eyes widened and he placed both hands on the table in emphasis, “and I even gave him my blanket!”

Marluxia raised his brows at how exuberant Axel was in sharing the kind deeds he had done for Roxas’ sake. “Really?” he asked in honest disbelief. Marluxia had not seen Axel without said blanket for the near month that the boy had been living at the facility. When Axel nodded pointedly, Marluxia glanced over at the Blanket bunched up in Roxas’ lap. He smiled. “Wow, Roxas, you sure are lucky to have a friend like Axel here,” he commented softly towards the blond boy. “You know, good friends are hard to come by, make sure to keep them close to your heart.”

Roxas didn’t look up, but he nodded and, fiddling with the soft fabric in his lap, he smiled, “Yea,” and went back to eating his cereal.

Roxas _loved_ Froot Loops.

* * *

 

“Roxas.” Vexen beckoned from the doorway of the boys’ room. Axel and Roxas had been having staring contests. After much pestering, the redheaded boy had finally discovered that Roxas actually _enjoyed_ staring blankly at people. The ‘fun’ was interrupted when the scientist entered the room, though.

Axel brightened but didn’t take his eyes off of the other boy’s orbs, “Hi, Vexen!”

Roxas, on the other hand, flinched and looked up at Vexen with wide eyes. Consequently, he blinked.

“Ha! You blinked, Roxas!” Axel rocked back in his sitting position and laughed. Roxas looked back at Axel blankly and frowned. He hadn’t lost all day.

“Roxas.” Vexen repeated and Roxas’ gaze reverted back to the man that had taken him away from his home. He narrowed his eyes disdainfully and Vexen raised an interested brow at the gesture. “Come, boy. You’ll be helping me with my work today.”

Roxas frowned.

“Vexen!” Axel protested, “you said I would be helping you!”

Roxas glanced at Axel and looked back at Vexen. Vexen smiled at Axel comfortingly and held his hand out to Axel and gave the boy’s tiny hand a light squeeze when Axel reached for his hand. Roxas didn’t like seeing Vexen touch his friend. He looked away.

“My apologies, Axel, I know I promised you,” Vexen soothed Axel as he got down on one knee to come face to face with him, “but Roxas must go first, you see, because he won’t be here as long as you.”

Axel pouted and took his hand back before turning away from Vexen. “It’s still not fair,” he mumbled dejectedly.

Vexen sighed at the child’s attitude. “Everything will not always go the way you desire, Axel.” He reached down and held out his hand to Roxas. Apprehensive, Roxas just shook his head and clutched onto the blanket in his lap harder. Vexen narrowed his eyes.

“Fine!” Axel exclaimed from the bed where he had gone off to pout. Roxas heard the crack in Axel’s voice. His friend was genuinely upset that the new boy got to go first. Roxas glanced at his new friend from behind Vexen’s leg and rubbed his arm in guilt.

“L-let Axel…” he tried to speak but the words came out in squeaky whispers. He was terrified of Axel being mad at him because he got to go first. He didn’t want his friend to be upset.

“What was that, Roxas dear?” Vexen coaxed.

Roxas looked up at the man kneeling before him and he stood up to equal out the height difference. Once Vexen’s sharp eyes were leveled with his, Roxas clung to the blanket in his grasp and tried again.

“Let Axel go… first.” He spoke with determination and kept a straight face as he stared into Vexen’s eyes. Vexen’s gaze did not waver, observing Roxas’ brave behavior. After a moment, Roxas faltered under the scientist’s stare and turned to look away.

Axel looked over from his brooding spot and noticed Roxas’ discomfort. His frustration dissipated slightly, and he sighed. It wasn’t Roxas’ fault.

“Its okay, Roxas,” he said quietly; too quietly for Roxas or Vexen to hear.

“Come, Roxas,” was all Vexen said before he reached forward and picked the boy up from under his arms. Roxas squeaked and tightened his grip on Axel’s blanket as the man held him against his hip. Vexen’s grip wasn’t warm like his mom’s; his coat was cold and his grip on Roxas’ legs was too hard.

As he was carted out of the room, Roxas looked back at Axel with a scared expression. The reheaded boy locked eyes with him and smiled reassuringly with a thumbs up. Roxas blinked, relieved slightly that at least Axel wasn’t mad.

Somehow, just knowing that Axel wasn’t worried made everything less scary. Roxas allowed his fears to leave him as he was taken to the scariest room in the whole place. The lab.

* * *

 

As Axel waited for Roxas to come back, he realized just how boring an empty room could be. Before Roxas had come, he had had fun with his imagination and his blanket. But, now that he had made a friend, even if that friend was as _boring_ as Roxas, he realized how fun the presence of another kid around his age could be. He really liked having Roxas around.

“Rox-as.” He sang the boy’s name aloud and laughed at how it echoed slightly in the large room. Axel decided that when Roxas came back, he would teach Roxas how to yodel like they were high in the mountains. He knew it would be fun with the echo. He hoped that Roxas stayed with him for a while, so they could play a lot more games before Roxas’ visit was over.

Axel glanced around the room to see if there was anything to play with. He noticed his sheet was still pulled off the bed and crumpled in a ball where Roxas had left it and abandoned it in lieu of Axel’s blanket. The redheaded boy laughed at the memory of tiny Roxas clinging to the sheet and padded over to the bed to cuddle up with it. It wasn’t as soft as his blanket but it’d have to do.

Axel sat crisscross on the bed and pulled a portion of the sheet into his lap to cover his legs. He sat like that, staring at the door, and willed Roxas to come back so they could play. When nothing happened, he sighed and bent over to reach under the mattress. He pulled out his lighter and proceeded to flick the flame off and on like he had the day before.

It didn’t seem as fun this time, though.

* * *

 

“Ow!” Roxas squirmed as Vexen poked a needle in the crook of his elbow. There was already a needle in his other arm, attached to a tube that had a flowing red liquid in it. Roxas wasn’t sure what the liquid was.

“Calm, Roxas.” Vexen spoke soothingly as he wiped the skin around where the needle now protruded from the boy’s arm with a sterile pad.

Roxas whimpered and shook his head but didn’t move, afraid of feeling the needles in his arms more if he moved his arms. “Mommy…” he whispered to himself in a childish plea. He was so, very scared, and didn’t know how to run away from this situation.

Vexen didn’t seem to hear Roxas’ plea for his mother as he turned to the machine that Roxas was hooked up to. He attached the new tube to another socket in the machine and flipped the switch. The red liquid that had been filling the back in the machine then started to filter back into the new tube, cycling back into Roxas’ body. Vexen then turned his back to the boy to search for something. Roxas hadn’t been strapped down because Vexen knew that the timid boy wouldn’t put up a fight.

Spotting the small tube of powder he was looking for across the room, Vexen reached for the formula and checked the label. _Light._

“Don’t worry Roxas, this discomfort will only last a little bit right now, but later you will feel better than you did before,” he reassured gently as he turned to the machine that was hooked up to the boy.

Roxas didn’t hear him. His ears were locked away in his own mind as he stared at the tubes coming out of his body. His bloodshot eyes leaked tears when he realized that the liquid flowing out one tube and in the other was his own blood.

“Roxas?” Vexen attempted to get his attention again.

Roxas lifted his head and met Vexen’s gaze with pleading eyes that would melt any person’s heart. Vexen regarded the stare for a moment before he turned away and tipped the formula tube over ever so slightly so that the powder fell into the bag that was cycling Roxas’s blood back into his body.

Roxas watched in horror. He didn’t know what Vexen was doing to him and that scared him. When he had gone to the doctors with him mom back in the UK, the doctors would always tell him how the things they were doing would make him feel better. Vexen’s silence as he worked made him even more nervous.

“Mommy…” he beckoned for his mother again as he watched Vexen’s ministration with wide eyes.

Vexen turned back to the boy sitting on the table and placed a hand on the boy’s cheek gently, “You are so pure, little Roxas.” He spoke out of interest and moved his hand down to the crook of Roxas’ neck where he pressed his thumb against Roxas’ skin, feeling around for something.

Roxas didn’t dare move. He watched the man’s eyes as they stared intently at his neck.

“You’ll be unique Roxas, don’t worry,” Vexen coaxed gently again as he reached for a numbing wipe and a scalpel.

* * *

 

Axel was almost asleep when Roxas returned to their room.

Roxas stumbled in, clutching onto his blanket for dear life. He took one look at the huddled form on the bed that was staring at him and broke into silent tears as he stared pleadingly at Axel.

"Roxas?" Axel asked, confused. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and scrambled off the bed to get a better look at his new friend.

Roxas slowly sat down on the ground and looked up at Axel when the redhead sat in front of him, staring, bewildered, at all of the boy's bandages. He reached forward and touched the gauze that was wrapped around both of Roxas’ elbows. Roxas winced at the touch, and pulled his arms away.

"Axel…" He whimpered. "I want… I want to go  _home."_  His voice squeaked on the last syllable and Axel squinted. He was beyond confused. His gaze moved to the large bandage that was covering Roxas' neck. It was staining red in the middle. Axel's eyes widened and he looked back up at the boy's eyes. They were frightened.

"Don't be scared, Roxy. Vexen is so cool!" Axel tried to lighten the mood. He was getting scared. He had never been around much injury before.

Roxas didn't seem to agree. He shook his head as much as he could without hurting his neck and closed his eyes tight. "He hurt me… Axel." The blond looked up at his only friend in the darkness. "Don't let him hurt you." He whimpered and Axel panicked. He didn't know what to do, so he just hugged Roxas. Everything was moving too fast for him to understand.

He reminded himself in his mind that his new dad was a nice man, and Vexen would explain why he had to do what he did later.

As Roxas clung to Axel's shirt, the boy's blanket was suffocated between the two. The blond hadn't let go of it.


	3. Superheroes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Axel and Roxas sneak out of their room to explore and Axel helps Vexen with his work.

_Journal! I’m a little bit scared! After breakfast this morning, Vexen came in and took Roxas to help him with his work. Roxas didn’t want to go. But that’s just because he is a scaredy cat. When he came back, he was all hurt! He had bandaids on his arms and his neck! And the one on his neck was bleeding! I’m scared! He said that Vexen hurt him. Daddy wouldn’t hurt anybody! Right, journal? I don’t know what time it is, but it’s really late. I can’t sleep! Well, Roxas is sleeping right now. He won’t let go of my blanket. I’m glad he likes it but I wish I had one too._

Axel closed his journal and set it gently on the floor, placing his pencil on top of it. He was sitting against the wall next to the bed that Roxas was curled up in. His eyes wandered the room and he wondered again why he still had not gotten any kind of furniture in his room yet since he moved in. A play mat would be nice.

Axel didn’t have the same things here in his new home like he had at his foster home. In his old home, he shared a dresser with the other boys and they had a couple of chairs in their room, desks, and a couple of windows. He didn’t have any of these things now. After seeing Roxas come back all hurt from Vexen, he was beginning to wonder why. The building was so big, so how come he wasn’t allowed to have anything? At first, he thought he shouldn’t ask anything and be happy with what he was given. The grown-ups always know what’s best for the kids, or so his foster mom had told him. Axel huffed into the quiet air of the room. He didn’t understand.

Why did Vexen have to bring him his clothes? Why did he have to ask to go to the bathroom? Why wasn’t he allowed to leave his room without asking? He wasn’t even grounded!

Axel wondered if maybe Vexen didn’t realize that Axel wasn’t a baby, he was a big kid and he knew how to pick out his own clothes and go to the bathroom by himself. He didn’t need people to walk to the bathroom with him, and he didn’t need Vexen to pick out his outfits for him.

“Roxas?” Axel whispered towards the bed and watched his friend intently for movement. When he didn’t notice any, he quietly got up off the floor and padded over to the door. He had never tried leaving on his own, but he wanted to prove to Vexen that he could do things on his own. Maybe then Vexen would let him have more things. He would just go to the bathroom and come right back to his room. And tomorrow, he would tell Vexen all about it. 

Still, as Axel stood facing the door to his room, he bit his lip in apprehension. He contemplated whether or not he really wanted to go against Vexen’s orders.

“Axel?”

Axel flinched, but relaxed when he remembered it was just Roxas. Cute, funny little Roxas.

“Axel… my arms hurt…”

Axel frowned, still facing the door. He looked down at his sock-covered feet. He didn’t like hearing Roxas all sad again. His friend was starting to be really fun, and now he was probably gonna be sad like he was before all the time.

“It’s okay, Roxas!” Axel shouted at the door and turned back to face the trembling boy on the bed. “Can I see? I bet they look cool!” He grinned.

Roxas sat up into a crisscross position and held out his arms in front of himself. He stared down at them morbidly and Axel watched as his body started shaking with shudders. The crooks of his arms were bruised an ugly purple and the bruises were turning yellow on the edges. Roxas looked like he was going to start crying.

“Roxas! I told you boy’s don’t cry, _remember?_ ”

“B-but…” Roxas stuttered and sniffed. He looked up at the older boy through his hair and Axel held a bright smile on his face as he locked eyes with Roxas.

“C’mon Roxas! Wanna go snoop around!?” the redheaded boy asked excitedly, balling his fists up in front of his face.

Roxas sucked in a deep breath, attempting to bring his breathing back to normal. He shook his head when he couldn’t calm down easily. Axel watched with interest as the younger got frustrated with himself and started furiously rubbing at his eyes. _He’s so funny!_

“Kay! Well I’m going anyway!” Axel announced and placed his hands on his hips. He grinned down at Roxas, “You sure you don’t wanna come with?”

Roxas held the other boy’s stare as he squeezed the blanket in his lap. His little knuckles turned white from the grip and he nodded his head slowly.

“Okay!” Axel stated as if it was no big deal and turned around quickly on his feet, leaving the blond to stare at his retreating back. Roxas watched as the older boy walked up to the door and reached up to touch the handle. The handle was too high up for Axel to reach, though, and he had to stand on his tiptoes just to touch it. He hesitated for a moment and Roxas tipped his head to the side in confusion when Axel just stared up at the door handle for a moment.

“Axel?” he asked quietly.

Axel glanced over his shoulder at the other in acknowledgement. Roxas looked down at the fabric in his lap for a moment before continuing, “I wanna go.” Axel grinned

“Okay, c’mon!”

Roxas clambered off of the bed carefully and joined Axel at the door. Axel put his arm around Roxas’ shoulders and the smaller boy flinched for a moment before relaxing and turning his head away shyly.

“I think if I jump high enough, I can reach the handle. Give me a second.” Axel announced and Roxas nodded, taking two steps to the side when Axel released his hold on him. The older boy jumped directly upwards and flared his arm around to try to reach the handle. He missed on his first try, but was able to turn the handle on his second jump, letting the door crack open. He grinned at Roxas triumphantly and whispered, “let’s go.”

Roxas nodded and moved to follow Axel out the door after the redheaded boy pried it open before he reached out for Axel’s shoulder suddenly and held him in place before he ran back into the room. Axel peeked his head into the door after his friend and giggled to himself when he watched Roxas pull his red blanket off the bed and drag it on the floor behind him to bring it with them.

Roxas walked silently, his socks shuffling against the tiled floor as he followed down the dark hallways of his prison. His friend had a light bounce to his step and kept grinning back at the blond every now and then. Every time Axel smiled at him, Roxas would smile back slightly and speed up a little bit to keep up with Axel.

“Hey Roxas,” Axel suddenly whispered as he stopped. Roxas halted and stared up at the other with wide eyes. “Where do you think all these doors go?”

The blond blinked and took a moment to glance down the hallway. He took notice of the rows of doors that he hadn’t seemed to pay any attention to before. He looked back at Axel and shrugged.

“Wanna find out?” Axel grinned and bent his knees a bit to come face to face with the smaller boy. Roxas didn’t say anything as he stared back at Axel.

“C’mon, we can be adventurers!” he tried again and put his hands on his hips. At this, Roxas’ eyes lit up and he laughed quietly and nodded before pushing past the other, shoving the blanket into Axel’s arms.

“Hold that.” Roxas said quietly and made his way over to one of the doors. He imagined he was playing _Peter Pan_ with his brother and was looking for stolen treasure like he had done so many times before. Axel watched in interest as the blond wiped his hands on his long basketball shorts and rubbed them together before reaching for the door handle. He had to stand on his tiptoes and reach as far as he could to just barely touch the metal with his middle finger. He pouted when he couldn’t reach high enough to get his hand around it. Axel giggled from behind him.

“Lemme help!” the older boy shout-whispered and joined Roxas by the door. He gently placed the blanket on the ground and dropped onto his hands and knees before crawling in front of the door. Roxas looked down at him, bewildered.

“C’monnnn. Stand on me.” Axel said, his head facing the floor, as if the plan had been the most obvious thing in the world. Roxas hesitated but obeyed anyway. He planted a socked foot on hi friend’s back and stared at the back of Axel’s head to make sure he didn’t hurt him. When Axel didn’t move, he stepped fully on.

Axel giggled as he heard the other turn the door handle and open the door. Roxas climbed off of him and immediately reached down to grab his blanket as Axel stood up and stretched.

“It’s really dark in there.” Axel pointed out as the two stared into the near-black room. The hallway was dimly lit at night, but the room they were looking into was pitch black aside from the light filtering in through the doorway from the hall.

“Who’re you?” Suddenly, a young voice came out from the dark. Roxas squeaked and immediately latched onto Axel. The older boy was about to respond when they heard someone clear their throat behind them.

“Boys.”

This time Axel flinched from the deep voice that came from behind the pair. He recognized the voice as one of the men that he had seen standing around in Vexen’s lab and at the dining hall sometimes. They had been caught.

Axel turned around and bowed his head ashamedly. Roxas gripped Axel’s arm tightly as he hid his face behind Axel’s unruly hair.

“Vexen will be angry,” the man stated with his arms crossed over his chest. He had a slight accent that Axel couldn’t place. The man’s long, black dreads and hairy face gave him an intimidating image which made Axel not like him very much. He hadn’t spoken to him before, though.

“Please don’t tell!” the redheaded boy suddenly shouted, lifting his head to look at the man with pleading eyes. Roxas glanced at Axel and quickly caught on to the pleading act and also looked up at the man, wide-eyed.

The guard stared at them for a moment, seemingly contemplating whether or not it would be worth it to send them to their doom by telling Vexen they had been out of their room after hours. He regarded their puppy eyes with disinterest. Nonetheless, he wasn’t cruel.

“Very well.” His deep voice cut through the silence. “Back to bed, then.”

There was movement from within the dark room and the pattering of feet against the floor. The man’s eyes glanced away from the boys to look past them before he reached forward and closed the door.

* * *

 

It was the middle of the day, Roxas was sleeping, and Axel was _bored._ Usually he and Roxas would be playing something at this time. He had stopped finding interest within his own imagination and was not lost in his curiosity of what he had seen in the hall at night. He wanted to explore the rest of his home, and meet whoever was in that room!

Roxas had refused to eat his breakfast that morning, and Axel had felt bad enjoying his spaghetti in front of his friend.

Roxas had been less fun since he got back from helping Vexen.

Axel sighed. Vexen told him that he would be able to help him with his work today, and Axel wasn’t sure if he was as excited anymore.

Vexen would probably come get him soon. He still thought his dad was cool, but he wasn’t so sure that he understood him completely. Vexen seemed to know a lot of things that he didn’t explain to Axel. He understood, for the most part, that it was probably because it was all science-y stuff that Axel wouldn’t understood. When Vexen had described to Axel how his lighter worked, he knew that Vexen had a lot of knowledge in his brain that Axel would probably never be able to learn.

Still, though, Axel was at a loss as to why Vexen had hurt Roxas and not explained why. Maybe Roxas just didn’t know how to explain what he heard to Axel?

The redhead looked over at Roxas. He was cuddled up on the bed, holding his knees to himself with his blanket pressed against his body. The bandage on his neck was a bright white, visible under Roxas’ shaggy hair that had fallen in front of his face in his sleep. A man that Axel had never seen before had come in that morning and changed the bandage on his neck. Axel had gotten a look at what was under the bandage in the process and, to his surprise, it was worse than he thought.

Roxas had a large incision on the base of his neck and the veins surrounding the wound were turning a dark black color. It was just about the scariest thing Axel had ever seen. He was glad that there were no mirrors in his room so that Roxas didn’t have to see what his neck looked like. Roxas had flinched and held his eyes closed tight as the man had cleaned the stitched up wound and Axel noticed that he was also biting his lip and squeezing his fists into tight balls.

It must have really hurt.

Axel stood up from his perch on the ground and walked over to the sleeping boy. Roxas was so tiny; he barely took up one fourth of the bed. Axel suddenly wondered why he had been sleeping on the floor, when there was so much room on the bed. He contemplated waking Roxas up, but decided against it and just crawled around his friend to lay on the other side of the bed instead.

Although there was space between the boys, Axel could still feel the body heat and presence of his roommate. It calmed his mind a bit and he hugged himself as he fell asleep, since he didn’t know what else to do with his time while Roxas was asleep.

* * *

 

Axel woke up when a bright light invaded the room. He had slept late into the night. When he opened his eyes, he noticed he was hugging Roxas to himself and the blond was hugging him back.

Raising his head to see around Roxas’s shoulder, Axel peeked through his hair to lock eyes with the man in the doorway. Vexen was staring at the pair with a single eyebrow raised in interest.

“Come, Axel. Do not wake Roxas,” Vexen whispered and Axel nodded. He pried the blond’s little arms from around his waist, careful of his bruises and wrapped them around the blanket that had been discarded to the end of the bed sometime during the night.

Axel took one last glance at his friend to make sure he wasn’t woken up as he moved to leave the room. When he saw no movement, he grinned at his accomplishment and reached for Vexen’s hand. Vexen smiled down at him and held his hand gingerly as he led him out of the room and down the hall into the lab.

“Are you ready to help me today, Axel?” Vexen smiled down at Axel as he let go of his hand and made his way to the row of counters that lined the walls of the room. Axel nodded, even though Vexen wasn’t watching him. He watched in silence and rocked back and forth on his feet as his stood in the entrance of the room. Vexen pulled a stand out from behind a cabinet and rolled it over to the table that sat in the middle of the room, before he moved back to the cupboards to gather more things.

“Come sit, Axel,” he smiled over his shoulder as he gathered items onto a tray. Axel smiled back and nodded, heading over to stand next to Vexen who then turned around and picked him up, lifting him onto the table.

“Watcha doin, Vexen?” Axel asked with a grin as he dangled his legs from the table. Vexen pulled a chair up in front of Axel and sat down, crossing his legs as he regarded the boy.

“Science. It’s revolutionary work, really,” he smiled as he explained. “My work involves biochemistry, and the alteration of human cells.” He folded his hands in his lap, “I have been working towards a breakthrough for nearly 10 years, and I’m very close now to changing the world forever, you see.”

Axel nodded absently, not sure what that meant. Vexen leaned forward with a knowing smile and put it into simpler words for the boy.

“I basically make superheroes.”

Axel’s eyes widened then in excitement. No way! Vexen was even cooler than he thought!

“How!?” he exclaimed as he leaned forward to try to get a better look at all the things Vexen had put on the table. There was a bag, multiple tubes and a large metal device next to a bag full of other things in it. Bewildered at how such normal looking doctor’s office stuff could make superheroes, Axel looked at Vexen in wonder. His dad must be a super genius.

“How about I show you?” He smiled as he placed an arm on Axel’s shoulder. Axel squealed in excitement and nodded his head quickly. He watched on in wonder as Vexen reached behind himself and picked up a lighter. It looked almost identical to the one he had given to Axel.

Axel giggled when Vexen pressed the object into his hand. It was cold.

“Do you remember how to use this, Axel?” The scientist asked as he pulled on a pair of thick rubber gloves. Axel nodded excitedly.

“Yup!”

Vexen smiled and reached for the metal machine, placing it on the counter beside him before he attached the back to a hook at the top of the machine.

“You see this?” He pointed to the bag, “If you light the burner under it,” he pointed to said burner, “it will heat up this bag.” He glanced at Axel who was listening intently. He smiled and continued, “Therefore, child, any substance placed into this bag will get hot before it leaves the bag out the other side.”

“Cool!” Axel exclaimed and grinned at the scientist when Vexen nodded his head.

“Yes, it is very ‘cool,’” he agreed and proceeded to explain. “So, by monitoring the amount of time the substance stays in the bag before it leaves out the other side, I can monitor the temperature of the substance. Then, you see, the temperature will not all leave the bag at a boiling temperature, but will gradually get hotter over time.”

Axel listened quietly. He wasn’t following along perfectly, but from what he understood, it sounded like when you boil water to cook macaroni noodles, except way more complicated, with a lot more tubes. And bags.

He vaguely wondered if someday he would be able to talk with big words like Vexen did. For now, though, he just smiled and pretended he understood.

The boy watched as his adoptive father reached for the bag and gathered the two tubes that were attached to it, one on either side. The tubes had needles on the ends of them. Axel scrunched up his nose disdainfully at the sight, suddenly thinking of the bruises on Roxas’ arms.

Vexen pulled two disinfectant wipes from a drawer underneath Axel and proceeded to sterilize the needles. Once he had wiped them over a few times, he tossed the wipes into a nearby bin and looked up at Axel, who was watching him carefully.

“Are you scared of needles, Axel?”

Axel nodded, slightly ashamed of his nervousness. Vexen smiled warmly.

“It won’t be terribly long. It’ll just be like a small pinch when they go in,” he explained, reaching forward to pinch Axel’s nose lightly for example. Axel laughed nervously and nodded. Vexen reached for his arms, then. He wiped down the crooks of his arm before picking up one of the needles attached to a tube. He lined it up in front of Axel’s arm. Axel instinctively pulled away.

“Axel.” Vexen stated sternly, looking up at Axel with an intense stare. Axel shrunk in shame and muttered a quiet apology before holding out his arms in front of himself and looking away. “Good boy.”

* * *

 

When Roxas woke up, he immediately noticed that Axel was gone. The room was way too quiet. Also, he had vaguely remembered Axel telling him that he would be helping Vexen today with his work. Roxas frowned.

What was happening to Axel at that moment?

Holding his blanket, the blond boy scrambled out of his bed quickly. He wasn’t going to just sit around. Axel always made sure that Roxas was okay, so this time Roxas was going to do the same. As his feet hit the floor, he walked quickly across the room.

Staring up at the door, Roxas suddenly remembered his height and frowned. The handle was way too high for him to reach. Even if he jumped like Axel, he knew he wouldn’t reach it, especially while his arms were still sore.

Wracking his brain for an idea, Roxas suddenly remembered the way that Axel would knock on the door in order to get someone to come and take him or Roxas to the bathroom.

Roxas knocked his knuckles against the door three times and waited.

When no answer came, he huffed and kicked the door. He waited again.

When he was met with silence again, Roxas let out a loud breath and dropped his blanket to the floor to give the door a thorough beating. He pounded his fists and kicked it repeatedly for a few long moments. When he felt about ready to give up, the door swung open quickly and Roxas nearly fell over before he was caught by a gentle but firm grip.

Marluxia stared down at the tiny boy in front of him with wide eyes. Roxas had been making such a ruckus!

“Roxas?” he asked, confused, as he got to his knees to look the boy in the face. His eyes wandered to the bandage on his neck briefly before he looked back into the blue eyes. Roxas stared at him for a moment before reaching down calmly to pick up his blanket. Once it was secure in his grip, he looked back to the pink haired man and tugged on his shirt sleeve.

“I have to pee.”


	4. Loved Ones

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Axel breaks during his time with Vexen in the lab. Roxas convinces Marluxia to step into action.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now shit is hitting the fan y'all. Enjoy!

“Okay Axel.” Vexen muttered as he walked over to the boy who sat still atop the metal table. Two tubes protruded from the crooks of his arms, connecting him to the bag that hung nearby. Axel’s body was trembling slightly and his mouth pressed into a tight line as he tried to contain his apprehension. Vexen told him he made superheroes, so maybe this was going to be really cool. Maybe Vexen would turn him into Spiderman or something.

“Would you like to do the honors of lighting the burner?” Vexen looked up at him through his long, stringy blond hair. He hadn’t tied it into its usual ponytail today. He then nodded his head in the direction of the bag that was halfway full of Axel’s blood. Axel’s eyes followed the gesture and landed on the burner that Vexen had explained to him earlier. It was directly under the bag that Axel was attached to. The boy’s fingers tightened slightly around the lighter he held in his hand.

Did that mean Vexen wanted to cook his blood? Axel’s eyes flickered between Vexen and the bag a couple times before he shook his head slowly. No, he didn’t want to light that burner. Vexen smiled and tucked an invasive strand of hair behind his ear. Axel watched silently as the lighter was gently pried from his fingers and the scientist flipped the top open.

“That’s alright, I can do it for you,” Vexen reassured and ran his thumb across the gear quickly, sparking a flame on the lighter. Axel’s eyes locked onto the small flame. He had grown familiar with the flicker of flame that lighter’s produced. He wasn’t as amazed at the creation of the flame this time.

Green eyes watched as the scientist moved away from him for a moment and turned to direct the flame over the burner. Axel felt himself panic. His eyes grew wide in horror as he continued to will himself not to move.

“Daddy!” he shouted out instinctively. “Daddy, wait, shouldn’t you unhook me from that first?” His voice was squeaky as he watched the burner catch aflame, bright flames crackling. Vexen glanced at Axel over his shoulder before placing the lighter back onto the table and turning to the boy.

“I told you not to call me that, Axel,” he stated calmly and placed a gloved hand gently atop the boy’s head. “Of course, I can’t ‘unhook’ you, as you say. If you are not connected to the system, nothing will get done. You must understand,” he nodded as he locked eyes with Axel.

Axel stared back at Vexen but didn’t reply. He opted to look down at his arms instead. Just a couple days ago, he couldn’t contain his excitement for helping Vexen do his work. Now, he wished he had asked more about what the work was in the beginning. He was starting to understand why Roxas was so nervous around his dad.

Hearing metal against metal, Axel was brought out of his thoughts. He looked up to see Vexen searching for something atop the cabinet again. He narrowed his eyes in curiosity when Vexen held up something he couldn’t identify. It looked like a pen, but it was made out of some type of metal.

“See this, Axel?” Vexen questioned as he came near Axel with the utensil. The boy was apprehensive, but nodded. “It gets very hot. Kind of like a hot glue gun, but without the glue.”

Axel didn’t say anything. He understood. Sometimes, he had done arts and crafts with his foster siblings and their foster mom would use a hot glue gun to help them put things together. They weren’t allowed to touch it, because the tip got really hot to melt the glue and that was too dangerous for kids.

“You see, as your blood is heated in this bag, it will slowly come back into your body here,” Vexen suddenly began explaining happily, tapping Axel’s left arm gently where the tube was attached. “It will heat up the blood in your body,” he looked at Axel and furrowed his brows when he noticed the child wasn’t as excited about his explanations as before. The lilt in his voice dissipated. “Well, the human body naturally sits around a temperature of 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit, and will begin to shut down if it goes too high above that,” he described matter-of-factly, regarding Axel with an empty stare.

Axel gulped.

“If I make your body focus on more pinpointed sections instead, though, it will be more likely to adapt to the rising temperatures of your blood.” Vexen held up the heat pen then and switched on the power switch that was on the chord that protruded from the back of the pen. He wiped the tip of the pen with a cloth quickly before holding it tightly between his fingers and turning fully to Axel. Axel whimpered. “Now, hold still please Axel,” Vexen ordered as he held the metal in front of Axel’s face.

“Vexen...” Axel interjected quietly, “I don’t w-wanna… help… anymore.”

Vexen raised a thin eyebrow at the boy and regarded him with sharp eyes. Axel stared at his dad hopefully and Vexen laughed quietly, a breathy sound that seemed to pause time in the small room. Axel giggled along nervously.

“You are my son,” Vexen spoke once he composed himself. He squinted his eyes at Axel, and his voice dropped an octave, cutting the child’s anxious giggles like a sharp knife. “You will do as I say.”

Axel’s face fell.

* * *

 

“Are you done, Roxas?” Marluxia asked as he tapped his foot against the linoleum floor outside of the restroom where he waited for the small child to finish doing his business. He had been sure that Roxas would have been quick seeing how he had thrown such a tantrum to get to the restroom.

“No!” Roxas’s small voice shouted from the bathroom. He had to think, and fast! How was he going to get away from Marluxia so that he could go rescue Axel? Clutching his red blanket to his chest, Roxas stared at the door with deep, worried, cerulean eyes. He wasn’t smart enough. Axel needed him, but he wasn’t smart enough to save him. He had no plan.

Roxas’s brows furrowed in frustration and he angrily wiped at his now misty eyes. He wasn’t going to go and cry now! Axel had told him that boys don’t cry! Roxas sniffled loudly as tears still fell down his cheeks and onto the tiled floor near his socked feet.

“Roxas?” Marluxia’s voice came from beyond the door after he heard the faint sound of Roxas’s sniffles. “Are you okay!?” He raised his voice.

At this, the blond lost it and he let out a loud wail as tears flooded his vision. He felt so useless and he didn’t know what else to do. He was so small, he wouldn’t be able to make a difference while his best friend was in pain.

Hearing Roxas’s loud cries of distress, Marluxia immediately spurred into action. He threw open the door in an instant and rushed to Roxas’s side. When he saw the tiny blond sobbing, his tiny hands gripping tightly to his little blanket as his body shuddered, Marluxia dropped to his knees. He took Roxas’s face into his hands gently and cooed softly.

“What’s wrong, honey?” He spoke quietly and made shushing sounds as he held the boy to his chest, hoping to calm him down if but a little.

Roxas gripped Marluxia’s night shirt with one hand as his other still held his blanket. Face stuffed into Marluxia’s chest, he let out another wrenching sob. Marluxia didn’t move for a moment, rather just stared down at the devasted boy clinging to him. He then wrapped his arms tightly around Roxas buried his face into the boy’s messy hair, kissing his head.

“Roxas,” he said, a serious tone to his voice as the child clung tighter to him. Roxas continued to sob and shake, but not as violently as before. His grip on Marluxia’s shirt was tight. “Tell me what’s wrong.”

“He’s hurting Axel!” the boy whined into his chest as his hand dropped from it’s hold on Marluxia’s shirt and he gripped his blanket tightly to himself with both hands. “We have to help Axel!”

Marluxia’s grip on Roxas loosened for a moment as he stared ahead of himself. He had noticed Roxas’ injuries as he walked him to the bathroom, and had hoped that Vexen had not done anything drastic. His friend had always been so careful to slowly adapt the children they worked with, leaving all of them with no pain. Vexen was doing something different with these two boys. Something he hadn’t consulted Marluxia about.

Marluxia’s eyes darkened. He had supervised Vexen’s work closely for years, taking care of the children in their care and writing reports on their progress dutifully. All he had requested of his business partner was full transparency.

Marluxia had the right to put his foot down at any moment, as the Hearts Research Facility was founded under both of their names.

Pulling away from Roxas and gripping the boy’s shoulders, he brought his face down to Roxas’s level. “Don’t worry, Roxas. Marly is going to stop this.”

Marluxia then reached down and picked up Roxas’ discarded blanket. Axel had loved this blanket from the minute Marluxia gave it to him, and Roxas had loved it as well as it was passed over to him. He threw it over his shoulder before gathering the tiny golden blond child into his arms. No protest came from Roxas as Marluxia stood from the bathroom floor and headed quickly down the hall to the lab.

* * *

 

Axel found himself breaking skin as he bit his lip hard. The heat on his face was _unbearable_. He tried to jerk his head away again, but Vexen’s large hand was holding his head in place, not allowing him to move.

“STOP!” Axel found himself shrieking manically as pain took over his senses. It _hurt._ Everything hurt so much and he didn’t know how to handle the twitching in his arms as Vexen pressed the heat pen hard to his face.

“Relax, Axel.” Vexen’s cold voice invaded the air. His hand gripped the back of Axel’s head tighter and the boy tried to jerk himself free again. “This is protecting you.”

Axel wheezed and squeezed his eyes shut as tight as he could. Then, suddenly, the sharp pain was gone and was replaced with a lingering sting. His chest rose and fell quickly as he tried to regain his breath and open his eyes. He couldn’t open his left eye, though. There was too much pain beneath it, and it seemed as if his cheek had swollen up so much that it had forced his eye to remain closed.

Axel stared at Vexen, panicked, with his right eye that was misted over with tears. The pinpointed pain on his cheek was causing his body to shake with violent tremors. He writhed under the iron grip of his adopted father.

Vexen looked down at the boy with interested eyes, and called out to him with a bland tone.

“Axel.”

Axel breathed heavy, small chest rising up and down as his lungs tried to take in as much air as they could. His head snapped towards the sound of Vexen’s voice.

“Daddy…!” he whimpered desperately. The pain was overwhelming him and he silently pleaded his daddy would realize this and stop all the hurt and pain tormenting him. Vexen sighed quietly. Axel was almost making him feel bad.

“Can you squeeze your hand around my finger for me, son?” Vexen asked quietly as Axel slowly looked up and back down to his hand. He tried to do as he was told, but his hand just twitched, unable to move much.

“I-I can’t!” Axel panicked, voice stuttering. He couldn’t control his hand!

“Hm,” Vexen hummed to himself worriedly and let go of the boy’s hand to touch his arm. He studied the child closely before he spoke. His voice held concern when he spoke, “Your body is not taking the heat well. We have to continue with the distraction as soon as possible.”

Axel’s eyes widened in fear as he watched Vexen reach for the heat pen again.

“No!” he shrieked and jerked back on the table. Vexen immediately placed a cold, gloved hand on the boy’s chest, holding him still. Axel panicked and this time his scream broke, his voice filling the room and bleeding into the outside hall when the burning metal was pressed under his right eye.

* * *

 

“Axel!” Roxas called out to his friend when he heard the scream ring out through the large white hall. The painful screech stopped at the sound of Roxas’ voice, leaving the hall in an eerie silence. However, it didn’t last long as suddenly Axel’s ear-piercing shriek split the silence again.

“Roxas!”

Roxas struggled against Marluxia’s grip until the man put him down and the blond hesitated a moment, looking up at Marluxia with wide eyes, before he took off down the halal towards the sound of his friend’s voice. Marluxia hastily followed, passing Roxas up quickly and stopping in front of Vexen’s lab doors. Roxas was at his side in a moment, looking up at him.

“Open the door!” The blond’s voice was panicked as he pushed himself against the metal door. He stood on his tip-toes and stretched his hand upwards as far as he could to open the door himself but he failed. Just like when he had gone exploring with Axel, he was too short.

Marluxia hesitated, if he burst into the door now, he could interrupt something that could put Axel in danger. He pressed his hand against the door’s surface for a moment and debated if he should burst in that second. When Axel’s next screech ended in a loud, ugly sob however, all hesitation flew out the window and Marluxia threw the door open in an instant.

* * *

 

“Roxas!” Axel shrieked when he heard the door barge open, the small boy and Marluxia stumbling into the room. Roxas’s panicked eyes darted around the room for half a second before settling on his friend who was struggling under Vexen’s grip as something was pressed against his face. He caught sight of bright red streaming down the other side of Axel’s face and he screamed.

“Vexen!” Marluxia shouted, his deep voice booming through the room over the sound of Roxas’ horrified scream. “What the fuck are you doing!?” he demanded as he watched his comrade scar and burn the small child’s cherubic face. He nudged Roxas, who had frozen in his spot, out of the way and stepped close to Vexen with his hands in front of him. He didn’t dare touch Vexen while he held the pen to Axel’s face, afraid of hurting Axel further.

Vexen didn’t even turn around in the commotion, set on holding Axel down. He spoke pointedly as he pressed the pen against Axel’s skin.

“Marluxia. I told you not to interrupt, my friend.” Axel whined as the pressure was increased. The iron scent of blood and his burning flesh permeated his senses, leaving him panicked and helpless.

“Stop it! Stop hurting him Vexen!” Marluxia seethed, his sapphire eyes darting from between the man he used to have so much respect for and the sweet innocent child said man was _torturing._ Feet glued to the spot he stood, his hands balled into fists frustratingly. The room seemed to grow a suffocating silence as his anger festered and Vexen removed the pen from Axel’s face. The boy let out a quiet sob at the loss of pressure.

“Marluxia. You know that this is necessary for progress.” He turned to Marluxia, concern on his face. It was unlike his friend to speak against the plans they had agreed on. “Please, just give me a moment, the timing is delicate here.” The scientists proceeded to place one of his long slender fingers in the palm of the child’s hand. “Squeeze for me?” he asked and Axel did, although his grip was weak. Axel’s eyes were clenched shut since both of his cheeks stung from open burns. Vexen nodded, satisfied, when Axel was able to squeeze his fingers this time, if but a little.

Roxas cowered up against the wall and watched the scene before him silently. Axel was always so happy and Vexen had changed his friend into a whimpering mess.

Vexen: the man that had kidnapped Roxas from his family and home. The man that had thrown him into an unknown life with no explanation. The man that had stuck needles into him and cut his neck open. The man that had burned and scarred the face of his only friend in this scary place. Roxas _really_ hated that man.

The small blond clenched his fists around his abused blanket and moved to stand beside Marluxia, the man who posed as his pillar of safety. Marluxia was frozen in place, but when Roxas reached for his hand and gripped his pinky tightly, he furrowed his brows in a new found determination.

“I will not allow you to hurt these children anymore, Vexen.” He spoke sternly, his voice deep with warning. “This is not what we agreed on. This is cruel!”

Marluxia gripped Vexen’s scrawny shoulders and moved the man to the side roughly before he reached for Axel. Gently, he pulled the needles from Axel’s arms and pressed down on the bleeding spots with his thumbs. Axel flinched and tried to pull away again, but relaxed when Marluxia shushed him. Vexen was silent as he brought two cotton pads to Marluxia and helped his coworker and colleague wrap Axel’s elbows up. Roxas watched from below as he gripped Marluxia’s pants. Vexen bumped into him lightly in his movement to wrap Axel up and he glanced down at the boy momentarily. Roxas looked away immediately.

“Marluxia. You must understand,” Vexen offered as he began dabbing the blood away from Axel’s face. “The burns are necessary for his body to adjust to the blood temperature. The consequences would have been far worse if-“

“The consequences wouldn’t be there at _all_ if you didn’t do any of this in the first place!” Marluxia interrupted him through his teeth. Vexen blinked, surprised at the venomocity in his friend’s voice. “Bandage up his face, do whatever you have to do and then I’m taking these boys to bed before I come back to discuss this with you.”

Vexen stared at Marluxia for a few moments, eyes narrowing slowly. He then turned to reach for sterile pads he had set aside to place atop Axel’s deep burns. Axel squeaked when Vexen applied the pads to his face, the slight pressure increasing the stinging in his face. Marluxia reached for Roxas as he waited for Vexen to finish his ministrations. He pressed Roxas’ head into his shoulder gently, trying to shield the boy from everything around him. Roxas trembled in his grip.

Once Vexen finished, he turned his back to Marluxia immediately and moved to record something onto a notepad on his desk across the room. Marluxia watched the man’s back for a moment before he gently pulled Axel off the table and onto his other hip. Holding both boys was a little clunky and heavy, and Marluxia grunted as he moved to exit the lab.

Roxas glanced at Axel from across Marluxia’s chest as they were carried down the hall to their room. Axel’s face was turned away from him. He reached forward and linked his pinky around his friend’s. Axel flinched in surprise for a moment, before he returned the grip, and squeezed his pinky around Roxas’ in return, still turned away from him.

When the three reached the boys’ room, Marluxia leaned down to place them gently on their feet. He then looked into Roxas’s eyes and reached for Axel’s shoulder, as the redheaded boy still held his eyes shut tight. His face was tired and solemn as he took in the sight of the damaged children before him. Just the day before, he had been listening to the boys giggle over dinner.

“Boys,” He tried to think of what he should say at that moment. He took a deep breath. “Sometimes, the people you love are going to hurt you.” He furrowed his brows and locked eyes with Axel when the boy cracked his eyes open at him. “Don’t lose hope. As long as you have true friends,” he reached forward and took a hand from each child. He smiled gently as he linked them together, “nothing can break you.” Roxas looked up at him with unwavering eyes.

“Do you have friends, Marly?” the blond asked quietly as Marluxia let go of the boys’ hands. The children didn’t let go of each other, though. Marluxia smiled sadly bud didn’t respond, he couldn’t respond, not after all that had happened.

Roxas immediately understood, dropping his blanket. He reached forward and gripped the man’s hand with his now free hand. Marluxia tipped his head to the side and smiled warmly at Roxas. He was so pure. His attention was brought to the other boy, then, when Axel took his other hand in his own trembling grip.

What would become of these boys?

* * *

 

“It’s wrong!” Marluxia was growing increasingly frustrated with the thick-headedness of his long-time friend. “This approach may be faster, but it’s torturing those poor children! The other are introduced to their elements _slowly,_ like we _agreed_ they would! I will not tolerate this.” He crossed his arms over his chest and glared daggers at the man before him. Vexen sighed and ran a hand through his long hair.

“I have reached what would have taken me months with the others in one day with these two. Marluxia, this is revolutionary, please.” The scientist spoke firmly, unfazed by the intimidating stance of his friend that was much larger and stronger than him. Marluxia rolled his eyes before he spoke again.

“I can leave. I can leave and take them with me. I’m the one that signed Axel’s adoption papers, so you can’t do a thing about it,” he responded confidently and took a seat in one of the lab chairs, crossing his legs.

“They’re unstable.” Vexen reminded Marluxia as he turned away. “If you take them in the middle of their exposure like this, their bodies won’t be able to sustain themselves. They’ll die.”

* * *

 

_Journal. Vexen hurt me really bad and now I don’t want to be here anymore. I feel really hot all the time. Roxas says people get hot when they are sick. I think I’m sick. Roxas has been talking to me more. It makes me happy. I’m glad I have a friend like him. Marly says sometimes the people I love will hurt me. If they hurt me, why would I love them?_


	5. Mission Commence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Axel and Roxas adapt to a scheduled life at the facility. Marluxia prepares for action.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here we have it. After 6 years of hiatus, chapter 5. Enjoy!

Axel’s journal laid abandoned, thrown under him and Roxas’ shared bed for almost a week. Axel had written in it the morning after he had helped Vexen with his ‘work’. Afterwards, he had felt a strange twisting in his stomach whenever he opened its pages to write.

The following days, Axel got constant care to his burns from the hospital staff at the facility. Marluxia monitored the care closely, picking up Axel from his room and sitting aside in the room as Dr. Alderre applied salves and skin repair to Axel’s skin. Two weeks later, when the skin had not healed over enough to prevent easy breaking and bleeding, Axel was given two small skin grafts, in the shape of triangles, over his burnt skin.

Marluxia told Axel his face didn’t look very different, it just had a couple of marks on it now. Axel had nodded along, smiling back at Marluxia when the chef asked him if he was okay. He showed the grafts off to Roxas, telling him that, basically, he had got a little bit of brand-new alien skin. Roxas had stared at Axel, horrified, when his friend said this and Axel had burst out laughing.

Lying awake at night, though, there were times where Axel ran his fingers over the different textures on his face, staring off into the dark room, with his friend sleeping quietly at his side. He refused to cry over the markings on his skin, but sometimes his eyes got a little irritated and blurry when he thought about the reason his face would always look different.

Roxas and Axel played in their room every day between lunch time and dinner time. They didn’t get to see each other as much anymore. The man that the boys had come across in the hallway back when they were curious and adventuring had paid frequent visits to their room. He would take Roxas out on walks everyday outside of the building.

Roxas told Axel that the man’s name was Xaldin, and the man would walk too fast for Roxas to keep up easily, so Roxas had to jog a lot to keep up with him on their walks. He said there was a rose bush in the garden outside the building. Axel wondered why he was never taken along with Xaldin and Roxas on their walks. Roxas always came back practically glowing, his pink skin looking new. He was also always much more energetic, always ready for a game when he came back from his walk.

While Roxas was taken away at least once a day to walk around outside, Axel was picked up by Marluxia every day to help the man cook meals in the kitchen. Marluxia had set up a stool so that Axel could reach the stovetop, where he often helped the chef by stirring the pot. The steam from the pot was hot and would waft up into Axel’s face. The boy would breath in the hot air and grin at the warm feeling the steam gave him.

Whenever the meals were finished on the stovetop, Marluxia would move the pot away from the stove, and Axel would immediately place his hand onto the stovetop, giggling. The first time he did this, Marluxia dropped the pot and had pulled Axel away from the stove quickly. After a short conversation with the boy and a few moments of silent awe, Marluxia had allowed Axel to scramble back onto his stool and ‘warm his hands’ on the cooling-down stove top.

After a couple of weeks, Marluxia would keep the gas on as he moved the pot off the stove, leaving the flame burning on top. He would watch Axel out of the corner of his eye while he washed up. The boy would stare into the flames with deep fascination, and wave his hands through them often, sometimes holding his hands in the flame. Somehow, he never burned. Marluxia had made a point to hold the boy’s hand afterwards once when taking him back to his room, and he found himself flinching for a moment when Axel’s hand seared against his own. The boy’s hand felt practically on fire with how hot it was - but his hand was smooth, devoid of any burning. Axel had looked up at Marluxia when the chef pulled his hand away, wondering what he had done to scare the man. Marluxia had then ruffled Axel’s hair, and placed his hand comfortingly on the boy’s back instead as they walked.

Even though Axel helped Marluxia in the kitchen, he refused all of the treats the Marluxia would offer to him while they got to work. When the chef had prepared a large pot of spaghetti, Axel eyes had grown wide with excitement. He only ate a couple of mouthfuls, though, before he declared himself full and would scramble to drop his plate off.

Roxas would sit at the table and pick at his food during dinner, having playful conversations with Axel. After a while, dinner time didn’t include a meal for the boys, and instead they would just use the time to play in the dining room and never declaring hunger. Marluxia started bringing cards to dinner, and taught the boys card games while he ate and watched them.

Axel and Roxas spent time with Vexen separately five times a week in the lab, where they would continue to get shots supplied by the scientist. Roxas was never given an incision again and Axel was never burned again. Whenever one of the boys would return to the room, rubbing his arm gingerly and frowning, the other would be waiting with an idea for a game to play that night.

Both Axel and Roxas understood that time with Vexen in the lab meant discomfort with shots and various checks on their bodies. They never talked about their experienced in the lab with each other. Sometimes, Marluxia would bring up the lab in passing during dinner time while the boys played cards on the table. He would ask them how many shots they had had that day, and how long they had spent with Vexen each day.

Three weeks after the boys had first been worked on by Vexen, Axel told Marluxia that Vexen had not given him any shots the last two times he went to the lab. Roxas had piped up then to say that it had been the same for him. Axel turned to Roxas then in excitement and the boys continued to talk in eagerness about never needing shots again. Marluxia watched the boys closely.

They were ready.

* * *

 

Axel squealed in excitement when Roxas drew an imaginary ‘X’ onto the floor of their room with his finger. The smaller boy had been describing a treasure map to him that would lead the boys to a hidden treat somewhere in the lagoon.

“It’s gonna be right here, beyond mermaid’s lagoon!” Roxas exclaimed matter-of-factly, looking up at Axel with an intense stare. His cheeks always puffed out slightly when he was trying to be the captain, and Axel giggled at the sight. Roxas’ serious stare broke when his friend laughed and he smiled as he continued. “We have to be careful though. The mermaids can be really mean sometimes!” Axel nodded exuberantly and held his hand up to his forehead.

“Aye-aye, captain Roxas!” he giggled. Roxas’ face brightened, and he got up off the floor. Quickly, he ran to the bed to get his blanket before beckoning Axel over to the bed.

“We have to climb the mountain. Sometimes rocks fall and if we get hit on the head we can die,” Roxas explained in a whisper, looking up at an imaginary mountain in front of them in the place of the bed. Axel gulped.

“How do we get away from the rocks?” Axel asked as he rubbed his hands together in preparation for the climb.

“You gotta move to the side really quick!” Roxas exclaimed, reaching out to grab Axel’s arm and jerk him to the side. Axel stumbled in the movement and squeaked as he collided into Roxas and sent both of them to the floor.

Roxas stared at the ceiling, dazed for a moment, before turning onto his side to look at Axel. His friend had his hands on his stomach, giggling uncontrollably. Roxas laughed along and climbed onto his knees to get back to the game when he was hit with a sudden dizziness.

“Uh-oh.” Axel muttered from the floor as he watched Roxas swaying, sitting on his knees. He scrambled to sit up as well and leaned forward into Roxas’ face. “Don’t tell me you’re tired _already!_ ”

Roxas yawned, his eyes misting over with sleepiness as he shook his head.

“M’not tired, I just want to take a nap.”

Axel groaned, “That means you’re _tired_ , Roxas!”

“Yeah,” Roxas agreed and climbed up onto the bed with his blanket, curling around himself. Axel watched, frustrated at the sudden end to their game. Roxas always got super tired in the mornings. Only a couple hours after they woke up! Axel had begun to get used to it, though. He would just look forward to when Roxas would want to play again after his walk.

Roxas’ breathing turned soft as he fell asleep and Axel reached his arm under the mattress to pull out his lighter. He was wide awake and didn’t want to nap with Roxas. Flicking the lighter open, he ran his thumb over the gear to ignite the familiar small flame. With a bored sigh, he sat against the wall and ran his finger back and forth through the flame.

* * *

 

“Your temperature is sitting at a normal 107 degrees Fahrenheit today,” Vexen murmured as he removed the thermometer from under Axel’s tongue and scribbled the number onto his clipboard.

“Cool,” Axel responded absent mindedly, fiddling with his lighter in his hands. He had learned to just ignore Vexen mostly during his check-ups. Usually, they would end up shorter if he did. Vexen had not hurt him too badly since that day when he burned him, and Axel no longer was paranoid of being hurt.

Vexen sighed at Axel’s short response as usual. His work wasn’t as fun when the boy didn’t find it interesting like he had before. The progress at the end of the day, though, brought him enough joy to make up for the dull sessions.

“I think if we get you to about 110 on a normal day, 120 after you have been around heat, we will be golden to move forward,” Vexen estimated as he observed the numbers he had recorded over the past few weeks of Axel’s progress. Axel clicked his tongue idly a few times before responding.

“What then?” he inquired curiously. Sometimes he still found himself amazed at the cool things Vexen said. The slight wonder in his voice didn’t slip past Vexen and the scientist smiled, turning to Axel.

“Superhero stuff, Axel.” Vexen ruffled Axel’s hair. The boy stared up at him with wide eyes for a moment, the corners of his agape mouth twitching upwards. He then seemed to remember himself, and looked back down at his lighter.

“That’s cool.”

Vexen laughed lightly at Axel’s stubbornness. Children were far too emotional. He continued to squeeze Axel’s joints as he asked the boy to flex different parts of his body. Once he was satisfied with the way the boy’s muscles reacted, he patted Axel’s head twice.

“Alright, you are done for today,” he declared. Axel slipped off the table immediately, shoving his lighter into his pocket and running towards the door to go play with Roxas.

“Don’t run in the lab, Axel,” Vexen scolded after him sternly. Axel stiffened for a moment before muttering a quiet apology and pushing the door open. The door had been propped open so that Axel could come and go without having to reach the too-high handles.

Marluxia awaited Axel outside the lab, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. When he caught sight of the boy, he grinned and opened his arms. Axel giggled as he hugged the man and told him he was going to go and find a treasure. Marluxia chuckled and nodded, gesturing Axel back to his room. He watched the boy bounce down the hall and once he heard the door to the boys’ room close, he turned back towards the lab door. Vexen shortly exited the room.

“Ahem.” Marluxia stared pointedly at Vexen when the scientist turned to him. Vexen raised a questioning brow at him and Marluxia put on a conversational front.

“So, things are going well, huh?” he questioned, his voice casual as he leaned against the wall again. Vexen watched him for a moment before he looked down at his clipboard and nodded.

“Actually, yes. Things are progressing wonderfully,” the scientist shared. He addressed Marluxia with an empty stare. “Are you interested in the data?”

“Nah.” Marluxia waved his hand in the air dismissively. “Actually, I was wondering if you were planning to present this stuff to the board back at LU soon. It’s been almost five years since we split off from their research board,” he reminded. “Considering they’re sponsoring your work, I’m sure they’d be exhilarated to read about the progress you’ve achieved through child abuse.” His tone grew short and Vexen rolled his eyes.

“Please, Marluxia,” Vexen sighed. He looked up at Vexen in annoyance before he explained. “I am not sure if the board at the University will understand what we are doing here under _our_ names. Do remember your place at my side. You are just as associated as I with the Hearts Research Facility.”

Marluxia regarded Vexen for a moment before he muttered an ‘mmk’ and turned to make his way down the hall to his quarters. _He’s not sure they’ll understand what we’re doing here? Hell, I don’t even understand what we’re doing here._

As Marluxia reached his room and pulled his shirt over his head, he fell backwards onto his bed. Here he was, five years removed from grad school, dealing with Vexen’s shit. The idea of biomolecular experimentation had ignited his interest and passion for the study of life back when him and Vexen had discussed splitting off from the University. He had laid awake at night in excitement for weeks before he had moved out of the city and into the research building that they had cosigned under a loan from the board.

Now, he found himself sleepless at night for weeks, terrified to death about leaving the facility and what would happen to him and the children. Axel and Roxas couldn’t grow up in this place. Marluxia had wanted children of his own someday, hopefully with a beautiful wife and a quiet home. And yet, in the short couple of months that he had cared for the two small boys down the hall, he had begun to imagine what life might be like as a single father.

Axel and Roxas were stable now. He was sure of it. The boys had assured him that they no longer were receiving shots from Vexen. It seemed as if their appointments with the scientist were simply check-ups now. They could grow up without relying on Vexen now, and Marluxia intended to make sure that they did just that.

Marluxia held his arms over his eyes for a few long, quiet moments before he spurred into action. He stood up and pulled a backpack out of his closet where he had been accumulating items he would need. He had been hoarding cash from his share of the facility profits, basic medical equipment stolen from the lab, and Axel’s adoption papers in the back of his closet. Arranging the things into the bag, Marluxia found himself breathing heavily, anxious for the night to come.

* * *

 

Axel woke up in a jostle as his shoulder was shaken gently. Aside him, he heard Roxas groan quietly as he was awoken as well.

“What…?” he questioned groggily as his eyes started to focus in the dark room. There was light flooding into the room through the open door and a curtain of pink hair dangled in front of him as him and Roxas were shaken into awareness.

“Marly?” Roxas questioned quietly. He pushed his messy blond locks away from his eyes and sat up in bed slowly, pulling his blanket into his lap securely. Axel sat up beside him. In the dark, the boys couldn’t make out Marluxia’s face clearly.

“Sorry to wake you boys,” Marluxia whispered in a rushed tone. “I know you’re both very tired, but I need you two to help me with something.” He knelt down on the floor and placed a hand on each of the boy’s legs. He squeezed lightly in reassurance. “We are leaving.”

Axel and Roxas stared at Marluxia’s silhouette in front of them for a moment before Roxas nodded and moved to climb off the bed. Axel’s voice came to him then and he waved his hand after Roxas.

“Wait, why?” he questioned. “Where are we going?” Axel didn’t remember Marluxia telling him they would be going anywhere in the middle of the night. Vexen had made the rule clear that they were not to leave their room after hours. Marluxia shushed him quietly and cupped Axel’s face gently.

“I know this is a lot to try to understand, Axel.” Marluxia hesitated. He knew he shouldn’t lie to the boy, Axel was a curious child and he would continue to demand answers if he tried to wave it off. How do you explain to a seven-year-old child that you intended to smuggle them away to a better life? “We shouldn’t stay here any longer. There are bad guys here, and the longer we stay, the more in danger we are.”

Roxas gasped from beside him.

“Really?” Roxas whispered, horrified. He gripped Marluxia’s jeans tightly and stared anxiously at the door.

_No, not really._

“Yes. We need to leave now.” He turned to Axel then. “Do you understand? This is an important mission, Axel.”

Axel sat in silence for half a moment before he nodded his head quickly and clambered off the bed as well to stand beside Roxas. Roxas gripped his blanket and immediately leaned against Axel as he yawned heavily. Standing up, Marluxia held his hands out for the boys to take them as he watched the door for anybody passing by.

“You should carry him, Marly,” Axel whispered and pointed to Roxas who seemed to be falling back asleep as he leaned against his friend. Marluxia nodded, knowing that Roxas would have low energy until the sun came up again. He gathered Roxas into his arms in one quick movement and regarded Axel as he moved near the door. “You okay to walk, Axel?”

“Yeah, I’m not as much of a sleepy baby like Roxas.”

“Hey…” Roxas interjected sleepily from Marluxia’s arms.

“Quickly then,” Marluxia urged. “Do you have your blanket?” he asked as the thought came to his mind. Roxas nodded against him and he looked down to see the blanket was squashed between Roxas and himself. He knew how important it was to the small boy.

Briskly walking down the hall, Marluxia gestured at Axel where to turn to get to the exit doors at the front of the facility. The redheaded boy would run ahead in his socks and look back at Marluxia before turning corners. Marluxia passively thought it might have been better if he had not worn shoes. Axel moved around so silently in his little socks.

As they reached the entrance lobby, Marluxia shifts Roxas to hold the boy against his hip with one arm while he reaches into his backpack for a small hand towel. The facility was private and therefore only people with a keycard could unlock the door momentarily. Anticipating the beep of the keypad when he ran his card over the red light, Marluxia pressed the towel against the small speaker on the side of the box. The approved sound was muffled and he threw the towel across the room afterwards, not caring to pack it again. He gripped Roxas tightly then.

“Hold tight to me and your blanket, Roxas,” he whispered into the top of the boys hair, and Roxas nodded. Marluxia looked down at Axel then, his tone serious, “Axel. We are going to run out this door on the count of three, okay? We are gonna run straight to the third van parked in the parking lot. Do you understand?”

Axel looked from Marluxia to out the glass door of the facility to look for the vans Marluxia mentioned. When he caught sight of the destination, he nodded.

“Okay. We can do it,” he whispered, his hands on his hips. “What about the bad guys, are they out there?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah. Maybe. We need to move fast before anybody sees us.”

“’Kay,” Axel whispered and got into a starting stance like the men he had seen do on the tv before a big race. Marluxia stared at the boy for a moment before he nodded to himself. Axel was really taking the whole ‘escape the bad guys’ thing seriously. He knew Axel would be able to run fast. There was usually one guard that was assigned night shift to make sure nobody came onto the property. On most nights, the night shift guards just slept in their stations, though. Marluxia hoped this was one of those nights. With a deep breath, he counted to three and opened the door.

Axel immediately bolted, making a beeline for the van while Marluxia gripped Roxas tightly and ran after him. Immediately, an alarm was set off and Marluxia’s blood ran cold with panic as he felt adrenaline rush through him. If he were caught now, he would never be allowed the chance to try again. Vexen would surely make sure he didn’t have access to the children.

Marluxia’s backpack clunked behind him and Roxas shoved his face into his neck as he ran across the courtyard. The sound of keys rattling behind him caused his mind to panic and he felt himself grip Roxas tighter.

In a moment too quick to comprehend, Marluxia got a quick glimpse of Axel’s small body turning between the vans and out of sight as his legs buckled beneath him and he stumbled, falling forward. He had been clubbed in the back of the knee. He had the mind to turn to his side as he collided with the floor hard and Roxas fell out of his grip with a loud shout.

Marluxia’s head spun for a moment as searing pain shot through the arm he had landed on. Gathering his senses, he forced himself up quickly and screeched after the guard that was taking a screaming Roxas back into the building.

“ _No_! No! Stop!” he shouted after the guard, moving to run after him before he collapsed again, his knee failing him. He watched helplessly, horrified, as Roxas disappeared into the building in the guard’s arms.

“Stay down!” a booming voice echoed from his right through a megaphone and Marluxia’s gaze flickered between the guard jogging over to him and the line of vans just a ten second sprint away. He caught sight of Axel’s red hair peeking over from the side of the van. He squeezed his eyes shut for a millisecond, sending a silent promise to Roxas as he clambered to his feet again and made a break for the van.

Marluxia pulled the keys from his pocket and unlocked the vehicle remotely as he stumbled near.

“Get in!” he shouted at Axel.

“But _Roxas!_ ” Axel immediately shouted back at him, his voice cracking with the panic he was in. With no time to persuade the boy, Marluxia threw the door to the van open and pulled Axel into his lap before maneuvering him into the passenger seat. Axel shouted in resistance as he was man handled across the center console.

The driver door hung open still as Marluxia peeled out of the parking lot, leaving the single guard bewildered as he watched the van speed down the road.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel tense after writing that scene. Oi. Please share your thoughts and review, it will loosen my joints. Thanks for reading!


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